Hidden Emotions
by xspirit.shinobix
Summary: Her facade has broken down and her hidden doubts are revealed. NaruSaku Slight SasuSaku Slight SasuNaru


**A/N: Wow! I haven't written anything for a while! I decided to take a break from my still-in-progress story, Heaven and Earth, and instead wrote a small NarutoxSakura one-shot. The story was rushed, though...ah, well. Please enjoy!**

**Disclamer: I can wish, but...I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. **

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**Hidden Emotions**

**By xspirit.shinobix

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A thin wisp of a cloud floated its way across the night sky, revealing the full yellow moon which brightened the dark abyss and the earth beneath it. Silence hung throughout the village, except for the occasional rustling of the trees, the crunching of the leaves. or the squeaks of small nocturnal animals. Most villagers of Konohagakure were already fast asleep, giving in to the peaceful darkness and silence. Two shinobi citizens walked across the empty streets of Konoha, only just finishing their assigned mission. The pink haired kunoichi gave a tired sigh.

"Finally, that mission's over…it's been almost a week since we came home!" she complained.

"You're telling me, Sakura-chan…" the blonde drawled, wiping off the sweat on his forehead. "The first thing I'll do when I get home is just plop dead on the ground…I haven't had proper sleep in a while."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, please," she scolded giving the boy a slight nudge with her fist, "Remember, Naruto? On that one day during the mission, you slept past noon, and we were ambushed by the enemies!"

Naruto only pouted, putting his hands behinds his head. "Well, at least I was alert! Besides, we got out safely, with only minor injuries."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Alright, you win." She smiled, seeing her close teammate's expression brighten. But her grin faded, as she pondered about a certain problem that agitated her.

"...I wonder when we're going to get a mission that involves Sasuke-kun?"

Her voice was hesitant, and Naruto already felt the tension rise in the air. Her green eyes bored into his blue ones, desperately searching for a reply. Yet, her expression was somewhat indistinct, as if it her emotions were shown unconciously."We could always ask Tsunade-baachan." He whispered. "Soon, she'll give us a mission and we'll go bring him back."

There was a slight pause, before laughter erupted from Sakura's throat, grinding her fist onto Naruto's head playfully. "Oh, what's with you, sounding so small and whispering like a scaredy-cat? Jeez, sometimes you can act like such a baby--!"

"A-aaah, Sakura-chaaan! ITEEE!" Naruto yelped, frantically attempting to dodge another noogie from the kunoichi whose strength could match Tsunade's. "Alright, ALRIGHT, I won't sound so much like a baby, but just let me go!"

Naruto scrunched his eyes in pain, but felt the pressure on his skull disappear. He looked up, sighing in relief, seeing that Sakura had stopped grinding his blonde, spiky hair. Grinning mischievously, she walked forward, humming every now and then. Naruto stared ahead at his close friend, his eyes softening in realization as he saw the unnatural happiness surrounding her.

'_Sakura-chan…'_

Sakura turned around, her hands behinds her back. "Mou, Naruto! What's taking you so long! Hurry up!" she ushered him to the direction of her house. "You're going to have to walk me home!"

"Fake…"

Her body stopped, only her eyes slowly staring back to the blonde jinchurikki before her.

"Wha—"

"Are you going to put that fake smile on your face forever?"

Her sparkling emerald eyes gazed into his stern cerulean ones, all words lost within her throat. A soft breeze blew across the air, circling around the still bodies of the two ninjas. Slowly Naruto stepped towards Sakura, reaching out for her petite hands, rough and scratched from her job as a kunoichi, yet still maintaining a small, tender innocence.

Her facade finally crumbled down, leaving only a helpless girl.

"He'll come back, right?" a timid voice, almost the same as when she was bullied as a child. It was soft, quiet, yet pleading for comfort.

She felt a slight squeeze on her hand. "Yeah. He will." A reassuring grin grew on his face.

Sakura lowered her head, ever so slightly, her silky, pink bangs obscuring her expression from view.

"…What if he doesn't?"

Silence. No words were spoken; no noises were made, only hushed stillness. Naruto slightly parted his lips, as if trying to find a fitting answer. He had always asked the same question, trying to find the right answer to satisfy his anxious mind, though never aloud. But as he gazed at the girl in front of him who strived so hard, so long to find the answer, a growing determination and certainty rose within him.

"That won't happen."

His voice had never sounded so sure.

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End file.
